Why the Duchess of Alba was one of the most fascinating royals of all

When Spain's Duchess of Alba died in 2014, the 88-year-old was the most titled aristocrat in the world. She was also said to have owned so many properties that it was possible to walk from one side of Spain to the other with your feet still on her land.

The Duchess held more than 50 aristocratic titles, including the Duchy of Berwick and, up until her death, she was married to her third husband, who was 25 years her junior.

The Duchess of Alba was an eccentric figure in the Spanish royal family. (AP/AAP)

She was known as a "mover and a shaker" in the European social scene and regularly rubbed shoulders with everyone from royalty to Hollywood stars but also ordinary people in her beloved Seville.

What was so unique about the Duchess and why should we remember her?

The early years

Born in Madrid in March 1926, María del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y Silva, was christened the head of the House of Alba. Known to her friends as Cayetana, she was one of only three women to hold the dukedom of Alba in her own right.

"She chased love with men that weren't exactly seen as 'royal material.'"

She could also speak five languages, travelled extensively and quickly built a reputation as a woman who refused to be confined by rules dictating what was officially expected of her.

Most of Cayetana's titles were inherited when her mother died from tuberculosis when the Duchess was just eight years old. Her childhood was said to be a difficult one, as her father moved her to England where he became the ambassador for the Spanish government. It was during her years in England that Cayetana befriended the young Princess Margaret.

The Duchess was close with the British royal family. (AP/AAP)

Over the years there were several similarities between the Duchess and Princess Margaret, as both women were known for rebelling against the establishment, chasing love with men that weren't exactly seen as "royal material."

First Marriage

Cayetana's first marriage at the age of 21, in 1947, to Pedro Luis Martínez de Irujo y Artacoz received huge publicity throughout Europe and the wedding was, at the time, the most lavish in the world.

The Duchess wore a pearl and diamond crown, and arrived at Seville Cathedral in a horse-drawn carriage as thousands of people lined the streets to see her.

Her nuptials came close to overshadowing Queen Elizabeth II's wedding three weeks later.

The couple took a six-month long honeymoon which included time in Los Angeles where Cayetana socialised with Hollywood stars including Marlene Dietrich, Bing Crosby, James Stewart, Walt Disney, Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe.

While Cayetana later described Marlene as a "veritable goddess" she didn't think too much of Marilyn. "She did not make much of an impression on me," Cayetana said.

She regularly brushed shoulders with celebrities and socialites. (AP/AAP)

The Duchess was enormously popular on the international social scene, even hosting superstars such as Audrey Hepburn on her visits to Spain. She also invited French designer Yves Saint Laurent to stage a Dior fashion show from her Madrid palace in 1959. Jackie Kennedy even spent time with the Duchess when she visited the country.

Cayetana's marriage was a great success, producing six children. But, tragically Pedro died suddenly in 1972, leaving the Duchess heartbroken.

By this time, the Duchess was already a huge landowner with 34,000 hectares of land in Spain. To put this in perspective, the Principality of Monaco could fit into that space 170 times.

Second Marriage

Six years after her first husband's death, Cayetana married a man 11 years her junior, Jesús Aguirre y Ortiz de Zarate. Their marriage rocked Spanish society; friends and family of the Duchess looked down on her husband, an academic and former Catholic priest.

The duchess was fond of dancing flamenco, even for crowds of adoring fans. (AP/AAP)

While many labelled him a gold digger and social climber, a 1979 People magazine article quoted Cayetana as saying that the years with her second husband were the happiest of her life.

"Some people won't forgive me for having married an intelligent man. We are very happy together; we don't need anyone else," she said.

The Duchess continued to enjoy an incredibly active social life. She loved the classic Spanish pastime of flamenco, and she was also an aficionado of bull-fighting, often taking prime position at bull-fights in her home town, Seville. Over the years, there had even been rumours the Duchess was "more than friends" with a number of handsome bullfighters.

With her striking frizzy hair - sometimes dyed red, other times white - Cayetana always displayed an eccentric, often outrageous fashion style. Throughout her 70s and 80s she wore fishnet stockings and beaded anklets, paired with loud dresses and lavish designer jackets.

The eccentric duchess donned wild fashions until she died. (EPA/AAP)

She was still a regular fixture on European magazines and, well into her old age, she continued to host dignitaries from around the world.

But her life took another tragic turn when she was widowed again in 2001 as her husband, Jesus, passed away. Most people believed her second marriage would be her last.

Third time lucky?

After the death of her second husband, it was widely assumed the Duchess would live the rest of her life alone. So when the Duchess married her third husband, public servant Alfonso Diez Carabantes, all six of her children were horrified.

Alfonso was 25 years her junior, leading Spanish King Juan Carlos to openly label him a gold digger, hoping to get his hands on Cayetana's extensive fortune. The Spanish media once estimated her fortune was somewhere between €600 million and €3.5 billion.

Seen here with her former son-in-law, all of her children opposed her third marriage. (EPA/AAP)

Cayetana's children made several attempts to stop the marriage as they were fearful they'd be losing some of their massive inheritance. The Duchess told Spanish radio that all of her children had been divorced, so they had no right to give her lectures on morality.

"When the Duchess married her third husband all six of her children were horrified."

However, in 2011, the Duchess devised a deal to divide her fortune between her children, so that her new husband couldn't inherit her wealth.

Wedding bells in Seville

The wedding in Seville was a relatively small celebration, but still hundreds of people waited outside Cayetana's home to cheer for the new couple.

The Duchess later entertained her friends by performing a flamenco dance outside her palace. The couple was said to have had a happy marriage although, due to the Duchess's declining health, she was no longer quite the "mover and shaker" of her youth.

The duchess married her third husband in 2011. (AP/AAP)

Just three years after she married Alfonso, Cayetana passed away on November 19, 2014 at the age of 88.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Cayetana had more titles than anyone in the world; she was a duchess seven times over, a countess 22 times and a marquesa 24 times. Cayetana's eldest son, Carlos Fitz-James Stuart, 14th Duke of Huéscar, inherited all the Alba titles.

Despite her immense riches, the Duchess always insisted she was not wealthy.